Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Objections
Claim 7 is objected to because of the following informalities: there should be a comma between potassium carbonate and potassium hydroxide. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1, 2, and 5-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Nedez (US 7022161 B2).
Regarding claim 1, Nedez discloses a process for eliminating organic oxygen-containing molecules by adsorbing said molecules onto alumina agglomerates (col 1, lines 50-55). The alumina contains one or more doping compounds selected from alkali metal compounds or alkaline-earth metal compounds which represent Group I and II metals respectively (col 1, lines 59-61). The total content by weight of said metals is preferably 5000 ppm to 20% (col 1, lines 62-64).
Regarding claim 2, Nedez discloses V70Å which is the volume represented by pores with a diameter of 70 Å or more and TPV which is the total pore volume (col 2, lines 58-59). Inventive example 4 has a TPV of 71 ml/100 g and a V70Å of 62ml/100 g (Table 1). Calculations below show a 12.68% of total pore volume for pores with a less than 70Å pore diameter.
Volume represented by pores with a diameter less than 70 Å = 0.71 ml/g – 0.62 ml/g = 0.09 ml/g% of the TPV = (0.09 ml/g)/(0.71 ml/g) * 100% = 12.68%
Regarding claim 5, Nedez discloses inventive example 4 which has a TPV of 71 ml/100 g = 0.71 ml/g = 0.71 cc/g (Table 1). The porous volume available to water cannot be more than the total pore volume, so it is interpreted that this is within the range for water pore volume.
Regarding claim 6, Nedez discloses the specific surface area of the alumina agglomerates is preferably 30 m2/g or more (col 3, lines 45-46). Example 4 has a specific surface area of 192 m2/g (Table 1).
Regarding claim 7, Nedez discloses doping is done with compounds based on sodium or potassium (col 3, lines 52-58). Sodium is introduced in the form of one or more precursors of its oxide Na2O (col 3, lines 59-60). Sodium nitrate, sodium carbonate, and sodium hydroxide are all common metal salt precursors of sodium oxide. Furthermore, agglomerate 3 uses a dilute sodium hydroxide solution to impregnate the alumina (col 5, lines 36-39).
Regarding claim 8, Nedez discloses the doped alumina agglomerates adsorb oxygen-containing organic molecules (col 4, lines 4-7).
Claims 1-6 and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Bhan (US 8618015 B2).
Regarding claim 1, Bhan discloses an improved catalyst for use in processes for the manufacture of a distillate product having a low concentration of sulfur (col 2, lines 51-53). The catalyst has a shaped support material that is calcined alumina (col 2, lines 56-60). The starting boehmite (alumina material) contains small amounts of impurities such as alkali and alkaline earth metals (col 4, lines 52-60). The alkali metal is present at a concentration of less than 50 ppm (col 5, lines 1-3).
Regarding claim 2, Bhan discloses calcinating three 700-gram samples of the shaped alumina support at different temperatures: 750, 850, and 900°F (col 11, line 16-26). The 850° F sample has 10.44% of the total pore volume from a pore diameter of less than 70 Å (Table 1). The 950° F sample has 7.56% of the total pore volume from a pore diameter of less than 70 Å (Table 1). The data entries of less than 50, 50-60, and 60-70 are summed for the respective sample to obtain this value.
Regarding claim 3, Bhan discloses less than 3 percent of the total pore volume of the heat-treated particle is in the pores having a diameter greater than 350 Å (col 7, lines 23-25).3
Regarding claim 4, Bhan discloses the median pore diameter of the heat-treated shaped particles is from 70 to 120 Å (col 6 line 67 – col 7 line 2).
Regarding claim 5, Bhan discloses the total pore volume of the heat-treated shaped particle is 0.5 cc/g to 1.1 cc/g (col 7, line 7-9). The porous volume available to water cannot be more than the total pore volume, so it is interpreted that this is within the range for water pore volume.
Regarding claim 6, Bhan discloses the surface area of all three samples are greater than 160 m2/g (Table 2).
Regarding claim 8, Bhan does not disclose the catalyst for use as an adsorbent, but no specific structure is required for the use as an adsorbent besides the catalyst already anticipated. Thus, the examiner concludes that the catalyst is capable of performing the intended use as an adsorbent.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Abazajian (WO 02081417 A1) discloses an isomerization catalyst for a distillation column selected from the groups of alkali metals such as sodium or potassium on alumina support (page 8, lines 31-33). The metal salt can be carbonates, hydroxide, and other compounds as long as they can be decomposed to leave some form of metal oxide on the surface (page 8, lines 34-36).
Gueckel (US 7507845 B1) discloses a catalyst containing silver and rhenium supported by a carrier with a bimodal pore size distribution (col 2, lines 54-55). The catalyst preferred support is 98 wt. % alpha alumina (col 4, lines 38-41). The remaining components include inorganic oxides such as alkali metal oxides (col 4, lines 41-43).
The table below shows more prior art that could be applied to the claims of the present application.
KR 20110128865 A
Miyazoe Satoru
US 6589908 B1
Ginestra
KR 20080080181 A
Bolk Jeroen Willem
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DAVID A CALDERON whose telephone number is (571)272-9866. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8-5PM.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Christina Johnson can be reached at 5712721176. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/DAVID ANDREW CALDERON/Examiner, Art Unit 1742 /CHRISTINA A JOHNSON/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1742
